Enclosures are used for storing all types of items. Generally, an enclosure is an area that is at least partially enclosed by some type of wall or barrier. Enclosures typically have doors or gates allowing entry and exit, and insertion and removal of items. Many types of enclosures are known. Enclosures may be relatively stationary or they may be portable or mobile. Sheds, houses and cabins are only a few examples of relatively stationary enclosures. Vehicles and trailers can contain enclosures or themselves act as enclosures. Conventional approaches to securing many types of enclosures have been shown to be inadequate.
For example, in the construction industry, trailers are often used to store machines and other equipment during construction projects. Construction projects can last for long periods of time (e.g., months). The trailers often must remain on the construction site for long periods and are often left unguarded. As a result, trailers on construction sites are frequently broken into while the workers are away (e.g., at night). Traditionally, the trailers have a basic mechanism for closing the gates or doors of the trailer. For example, some trailers provide a vertical bar that can be raised to open the gates or lowered into a slot in the floor board to keep the gates closed. A cross-bar can be lowered across the gates and are typically locked with a padlock or similar locking device that is external to the trailer.
Padlocks are often insufficient to stop a thief from breaking into the trailer. Padlocks are easily cut with a tool, such as a hack saw or metal snips. Once the padlock is broken, there is typically no other security mechanism preventing entry into the trailer. Thus, a thief, only using a basic tool, can quickly and easily gain access to the contents of the trailer. After a thief gains entry, often times the thief positions a pickup or van next to the trailer opening and unloads the contents from the trailer into the van or pickup.
However, thieves do not even have to break the lock on the construction site. In the case of trailers and other portable or mobile enclosures, thieves can simply hook up the enclosure to a pickup truck and take the enclosure to another location, where the thieves can safely break into the enclosure.